I am going there from 26th till 30th Oct, next week.Looking forward to do some goldfish shopping in Chatuchak.Any recommendations?Btw, really curious of how you bring your goldfish back? Put in plastic bags and hand carried? Do let me know as I wanted to bring back some really nice Thai Black Ranchus

Whn u get the fish area in Jatuchak, u w sure know who the general fish shops r n who specialise what... there is a few specialist goldfish shops which u w surely notice .. so u cn start from there...

S for black ranchus, well a friend mentioned tat if u see the inner-gills found at the bottom/belly/upside down side is all white, thn it is a orginal black ranchu... but if it is greenish or yellowish, thn it is actually a gold/pale yellow goldfish which due to some fish dealers make from tat to black.. (don ask me how they do it, if I know, I also open fish shop liao)... ;)

S for carrying back, the official stance (by AVA-SG) is tat the fish must b bagged, thn packed in a stryofoam box, thn aft bagged the box to prevent any leaks... a tip I know and recommended u do, is to put ice in the box, together w the bagged fish to lower their temp for a highly stressed trip for them...

there is no tax for goldfish, unless u bring more thn 30 into SG (dunno wat is the limit for MY leh)

However, if u wanna "steal" them into SG/MY... I heard some put them in bottles, small bags or (i recommend) those freezer/thermos bags which w b waterproof.. but if kena find out, u might have to pay fine or fish kena confiscate...

most of the thai fishshops cn pack the official way for u, either at a small fee or if they already "ker-tok" u enuf, they cn pack it for free...

thanks for the valuable tips.this trip has been planned for a long long time and finally make it next week.shall visit chatuchak market and will on a look out for some good GFs.by the way, do you know what is the asking price for a 3"-5" AA or AAA class Thai Black Ranchu? Would like to keep some as the one I bought from a local fish shop grows so slow... bought at 1.5" 4 months back and now only 2.5".... although the shape looks pretty nice.Once again, thanks for the info.

I think it is sometimes ard the SG price... $60 - $100+... but it w ultimately depend on ur bargaining skills, the tip is whn u buy more .. it leaves more room to bargain....

for me, I am a newbie in grading, so I look for the fundamentals n assess if the price is within my range... s long s it has good strong back, all well arranged scales, active unbroken fins, no icks, gills functioning properly, fish activly swimming, eyes look healthy n my gender preference for the fish... Im ok to chk the price thn..

I think based on the above, it shld b somewhere ard the AA or AAA or near showclass whn I choose thn rite?? .. I usually pay ard $80 - $120 (i got lousy bargaining skills)... for most fishes...

I am heading to bangkok on Nov 4 and coming back on Nov 8 (tues).My aim of this trip is to get 1 or 2 really nice ryukin. Budget below $30 per piece.

I understand tt Chatcuchak market is opened only on weekend. My question is how do I keep the goldfish alive as I will only be leaving on Tues? Shall I put it in the bath tub first? hehehehehe

OK some of the points taken so far.

1.Put Oxygen gel into the plastic bag to give goldfish enough Oxygen.2.Put the pastic bag (sealed at abt 3/4 inflated)and together with some ice(about 5- 10 piece perhaps) into a styrofoam box.3.Seal the styrofoam box with tape.4.Put the styrofoam box into a backpack.5.Shd I check in the backpack or Hand-Carry it back?

By the way, any problem clearing custom of both side if i am only bringing in 1 or 2 fish?

Any other useful advice bro?

First time visiting Bangkok. Cant wait to get the ryukin over but am very worried they will die on me upon arrival in spore :

The difficulty is not with the Singapore Customs,but clearing the Thai immigration.LoboChan did not state explicitly whether he hand carried it back or getting the LFS to send the fishes on his behalf.If he had hand carried back, I would be glad if he can elaborate how he got thru the Thai customs.But then again, his experience in the success of hand carrying back does not mean that everyone is able to hand carry back.

The difficulty is not with the Singapore Customs,but clearing the Thai immigration.LoboChan did not state explicitly whether he hand carried it back or getting the LFS to send the fishes on his behalf.If he had hand carried back, I would be glad if he can elaborate how he got thru the Thai customs.But then again, his experience in the success of hand carrying back does not mean that everyone is able to hand carry back.

Past experiences showed that it is not a simple matter.

thanks for the link.i went thru it...and saw some really 'heated' exchange.understand better the obstacle to bring it over now.will check with thai side upon arrival for better understanding.cheers

I understand the moderators hav good reasons to query my comments s they r goin by the rules... by right, a lot of things,cannot do.. but by left, I always play "hero/cowboy" ... it is a crucial tip/skills tat a good hero/cowboy to b polite to everyone even those whom u think might b "villians" during ur fish hunting trips, i find the folks I met who I thot w give me trouble r juz doin their jobs lah

For my experienece, I did follow e RG "instructions" for my 1st BKK trip.. but I found it personally not neccesary... why? my personal opinion is below..

1) Aft landing at BKK, I headed to the Cargo area to apply for permit- found the place aft walking past the local terminal n +500m to 1km more.. (too far lah)

2) Aft asking some locals at the cargo for directions, walk to the right dept ( 4 got name liao, but some thing like our AVA type of dept), had to apply w a thai worded form (the customs folks were mighty nice n help me)- aft completing, they realise tat u shld only apply aft u r abt to head off fm BKK w ur cargo (so = wasted trip n they look at me like space alien.. dunno customs rules = sotong)

3) but the thais r number ONE good n kind people, they kinda told me tat unless u r bringin out huge quantities, it is usually not neccesary to apply for permit (my own personal guideline is never exceed 8-10). And they also gave me their dept phone number (which I forget liao), shld i face any prob w the thai airport customs whn I was leavin (in a few days time)

4) whn I was leaving aft a good few days in BKK, I had 2 big luggage (fm shopping like crazy) n 1 big stryofoam box w abt 6 fishes (4 was abt 3-5" n 2 less thn 1"), I was expectin som problem w customs.. but passing thru for check-in was a breeze.. they juz ask me wat I got in my box (being too large attracts attention lah).. n X-rayed the box loh

5) I chk in 1 big luggage n the other was a backpack which I hand-carry + my fishbox also hand-carry... no problem goin into airport n enterin the boarding area.. (but damn troublesome to carry so many heavy things lah)

6) the only problem i had .. w the big box was only during boarding plane, bcos within reason.. it cant fit into the o/h compartment or stored under e seat.. but the very professional SIA managed to help me store in their security area (don know where) n pass bac to me aft I landed ... (note to all, pls get s small s a stryofoam box s possible if u wan to hand carry n stored in o/h compartment)

6 a) my 2nd flight last 2 wks ago was TG... also same prob w storing the big box, but they got a lot of empty seats ... so my box was "seated n secured".. (so this is e other solution - book a non-busy flight n check into a seat w a lot of surronding empty seats - TG is possible, but I w not bet on SQ)

7) When I landed ... one prob is tat big box usually attracts a security screening, so b sure tat it is within AVA rules ... n unless u r packing some kind of rare fish (like arrowana) or dangerous fish (pirana).. shld hav no prob clearin the SG X-ray machine.. though they ask long n short lah... they usually r surprised w the "idiot who wanna have so much trouble lugging 1 big box" for some fishes lah.. they r strict, professional but I didnt hav prob here for both times I got checked..

8) thn I m out of there n headin for a cab to take me home...

My 2 cents worth... it is damn troublesome to carry a box for a few fishes, if u cn find in SG, pls spend a little more n buy it. Support our LFS lah!But if u like me, dun mind a little "trouble" getting asked here n there or use some strength to carry the heavy box n daring a bit ...well the overseas fish market cn b ur oyster.. ;)but always packed within AVA rules n try to bring a smaller stryofoam box which cn fit the o/h compartment of any planes... ... n don shop too much, cos u only cn handle so many luggage eh!

Btw, brudder YKeng... ryukin may suffer upside down prob if not taken care properly, pls don stress ur fish by walking ard the airport n shop shop whn u r headin off ... u cn only imagine the stress being stored in a freezing box and it is rocking n rollin all the time.. minimal movt is crucial for their physical n mental health..

S for other questions, yes to most shops ... jatuchak is only open on wkends, but for fishshops... unless fish no need to eat, shit, breathe... how to only open 2 days a wk.. but I know they r usually closed on mon cos sunday v busy mah... s to how to store fish whn u only leavin on tues... 1 solution I did was to - Trust the fish seller - to pack for u n thn go to jatuchak on tues to carry it home/he bring to ur hotel lah... n tat depends on your "guanxi".. best to build relationships w the fish shop lah.. good if u wan to go bac in future.. sometimes u must b willing to pay a little more n get this good svc lah.. tats why my BKK bought fish is usually not cheap lah.. otherwise, u might hav to do the solutions u brought up..

Hi Lobo,Thanks for the write up.It helps clear the air that the fishes were hand carried back.

QUOTE(LoboChan @ Tue, 25 Oct 2005 8:17 pm)

they kinda told me tat unless u r bringin out huge quantities, it is usually not neccesary to apply for permit (my own personal guideline is never exceed 8-10). And they also gave me their dept phone number (which I forget liao), shld i face any prob w the thai airport customs whn I was leavin (in a few days time) cheers!

This is where the ambiguity lies.So, its really up to the individual to decide whether it is worthwhile to hand carry goldfish from Thailand.